The concert was in Northampton, MA at the Calvin Theater on King Street. Overall I had a very good time, so let me talk about it a bit.
As I came in after reserving my 75 dollar ticket I realized that I was one of the few people at the concert in their 20s. The vast majority of fans, at least at this concert were all middle aged to elderly men and women. I'm glad that his fans are so diverse, but I still felt a little odd seated between 2 women old enough to be my grandmother.
But when Brian and his abridged 8 piece band (which they call "The Crazy Eight") came out on stage the crowd was very excited to see the man they had come for, and so was I. I never imagined I would really see him in person, and being that close to him was kind of odd really. I found myself noticing things like his legs and thinking "He walks just like I do"...very odd things indeed.
They played through a string of Brian Wilson classics including "I Get Around", "Help, Me Rhonda", "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Sloop John B", "God Only Knows", "Dance, Dance, Dance" and quite a few of their rarer songs like "Marcella" and "Drive-In". However, after premiering his newest solo album That Lucky Old Sun on his last tour, he seems less excited to be promoting that album on his current tour. The band only played 2 songs from Brian's upcoming album.
I found it odd that Darian was missing from the band, along with quite a few other important members like Taylor Mills and any mention of a string section or horn player. Everything was handled on keyboards sadly.
However, the defining moment of the show is when Brian finally stands up from his unused keyboard (except to play a very short version of "Row, row, row your boat") and plays bass guitar for the classic Beach Boys cover of Barbara Ann. Very exciting stuff to see Brian rock out with his bass and do the classic guitar dance with the other bassist. (I wonder why Brian needs a bassist when he plays too).
It's nice to see a pop legend still trying hard to get out and play some concerts. Although he may not have known the name of the city or perhaps even what he was doing sometimes, I can say I saw him perform at least once in my life. There is a certain amount of prestige that comes with that.
I also bought this shirt, it cost $30.
